THERE was a special delivery for Glenashley Beach on Sunday as the National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) delivered the beach’s first-ever pink rescue buoy.
NSRI Station Five crew member and uMhlanga Pink Buoy project coordinator, Dion Beneke, swam in from the surf after being dropped off by the NSRI rescue crew to hand-deliver the rescue buoy to local resident Janet Simpkins.
Simpkins, the founder of Adopt-a-River and its sister initiative, Adopt A Beach, and various role-players, were responsible for the installation of the buoy which will help boost the safety of beachgoers.
“It was very exciting to see the NSRI crew arrive off the shoreline and actually hand-deliver the Pink Buoy to us. This is a first for Glenashley Beach, and we hope to expand this to other beaches our teams work on. Through the Adopt A Beach programme, Glenashley Beach was recently adopted, and we’ve been fortunate to have funds allocated for safety which led to the installation of the first Pink Buoy. Our Beachcombers Team, who regularly work on this stretch, were also on hand to welcome the NSRI on the day. They’ve been employed to keep this stretch of shoreline in tiptop condition three times a week. We are extremely grateful to the NSRI for helping us as well as for raising awareness on beach safety,” she said.
Also read: 11 Pink Buoys to boost bathers’ safety in uMhlanga
While Glenashley Beach is a non-swimming beach, there have been reports of near drownings making the installation of the rescue device all the more important.
According to the NSRI, the Pink Buoys have saved 144 lives in South Africa with zero injuries to civilian rescuers.
Simple ‘how to’ instructions are clearly printed on the buoy mounting posts: Call 112 for help and quote the location number; only strong swimmers go in with a Pink Buoy; swim slowly across the current, then back to shore.
The corresponding location numbers that appear on the buoy, and the mounting pole, coordinate with GPS location information at the NSRI emergency operations centre (EOC), sending the rescue team to the exact location of the incident.
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